


Domain

by PartridgeOnAPearTree



Series: Transversal [32]
Category: Dangan Ronpa, Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Super Dangan Ronpa 2
Genre: Death, M/M, Minor Character Death, Read the previous parts first! :), death death death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-26
Updated: 2017-02-26
Packaged: 2018-09-27 02:29:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,562
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9946148
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PartridgeOnAPearTree/pseuds/PartridgeOnAPearTree
Summary: The clouds during clear skies—the clouds that he thoroughly loved looking at—are now sullied with splashes of dark gray, some others even resembling a color quite close to black.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Project Hope Log#7: https://justpaste.it/13xhp  
> Read the Hope Logs! :)

“Matsuda told you too.” Kamukura looks up from his phone and faces the person in front of him. This phone was owned by one of the five people that he apparently killed. He made a mobile application version of the program that he has developed recently for convenience’s sake, but he has yet to encounter someone who doesn’t know about the program yet.

 

This person—Naegi Makoto. Even right now, the anger that Kamukura sensed from him during their first meeting is present. Even Kamukura has to admit that being this angry and still always keeping a friendly demeanor is pretty impressive, not that he can’t do that too. “You removed your phone’s battery the moment you sensed my presence. There must be a reason why you had to do something that drastic. Are you hiding something on your lock screen that you cannot just turn it off properly?”

 

“Who knows?” Naegi chuckles. “That’s not really important though. Anyway, I asked you something. You do want to be friends, don’t you?”

 

“As far as I know, friends do not hide things from each other.”

 

Naegi looked amused. “They teach you that kind of things too?”

 

“Befriending people and using them is a talent too.” Kamukura replies. “Is that not yours?”

 

“It’d be too harsh if you put it that way, don’t you think so as well, Kamukura-kun?” Naegi lightly scratches his cheek. “I have, I quote, ‘the excellent ability to be a soothing presence to other people’. I also have, again, I quote, ‘the exceptional talent of understanding the worries of my peers’. In short, my talent is being hopeful. I give hope to others. It’s a beautiful talent, isn’t it?”

 

“Is that hope?” Kamukura lifts an eyebrow. “The hope that comes from talent and the hope you speak of sound too different from each other. And I already said it, but the people from this place view hope as that from talent and not the one you are talking about. Between the two of us, I am sure that they will consider me to be the more hopeful one.”

 

“That’s the thing, Kamukura-kun. Hope is quite subjective. The researchers of Hope’s Peak might say that you are more hopeful because of your talents, but others would most probably pick me in a heartbeat. Your talents are nothing if you cannot reach out to people.” Naegi smiles. “You are supposed to be good at everything, but I wonder why you seem to be so emotionally stunted.”

 

“Emotions are generally not needed to learn talents. They just complicate things. And besides, I do not think you are in the position to talk about being emotionally stunted.”

 

Naegi laughs. “I know I can say with confidence that I have more emotions than you.”

 

“Maybe, but the emotions you are showing are not really the ones you feel. The real emotions you have are carefully hidden, so it is like you not really expressing your emotions at all. That does not make us too different.”

 

“But I do still feel them, don’t I? The emotions that I chose to hide—they're still here although hidden. But you… You are like an endless pit of ennui, Kamukura-kun.”

 

“This is coming from the person who feels like an endless pit of bile.”

 

Naegi sheepishly chuckles. “I can feel much more than that, you know. Compared to you. I'm more than my anger. But right now, I can’t say that you're more than your boredom.”

 

“You promised to me that if I go with you, I will find more things that will not be too easy. That is the only reason why I am here right now. But the moment you disappoint,” Kamukura stares at him. “I will leave right away.”

 

“And I know I’ll never disappoint. With us, you will witness a lot of despair, and we will even be the ones to cause it. And one thing Enoshima-san said which I think is true is that people in despair do the most questionable things.” Naegi pauses. “Most of which are unexpected.”

 

“Maybe they are just unexpected for you.”

 

“Then we’ll see if that’s the case. After all, you can leave anytime, right?”

 

Kamukura crosses his arms. “What is the Super High School Level Hope doing trying to cause despair for others?”

 

“Giving others hope by merely saying the right thing at the right time feels like power, doesn’t it? But so is giving others despair. I'm capable of doing both. It just so happened that I agreed on… well, how should I put it… a collaboration, for lack of better words, with Enoshima-san. Hope or despair—it doesn’t really personally matter to me what happens to the world. As long as I am the reason why. And at the end of all that, I’ll claim the world like how it should really be.”

 

“I see. So that is your goal. How do you plan to get there?”

 

“We’ll just raise the plants until they're seedlings.” Naegi chuckles. “And I'm sure that people are more than capable of raising the plants themselves after that with their own efforts. The seeds of their plants will fall off and scatter and repeat the process… and before we know it, the whole world will be covered.”

 

“How effective is that? You seem to believe too firmly that people will raise them. You are forgetting that there would be people who could kill them without even trying and meaning to.”

 

“I'm sure that there would always be someone around them whose plants are still alright. Those plants would constrict around them and never let go until they can’t breathe anymore.”

 

“What about the people who would actively try to kill your plants?”

 

Naegi laughs. “They're not just _my_ plants, Kamukura-kun. They're everyone else’s plants and seeds. As I said, we’ll just help raise them until they're seedlings. You see, I believe that everyone in this world carries these seeds. These seeds would never entirely go away whatever happens. They may try to actively kill the plants, but new seeds would still always be there, just waiting for the water.”

 

Naegi looks out the window and laughs again. “And hey, I think it would start to rain pretty often.”

 

Kamukura looks out the window too, and it is true that it was raining. The clouds during clear skies—the clouds that he thoroughly loved looking at—are now sullied with splashes of dark gray, some others even resembling a color quite close to black.

 

If he helps this group who’d like it to rain often, he wonders if he’ll ever see those white clouds ever again.

 

\--

 

“What do you think? My writing improved, didn’t it!? I know, I know, you're probably super prepared to apologize for everything you said before, but it’s okay, Fukawa-san! I know you were just thinking of me when you were so harsh last time!” Enoshima wraps his arms around Fukawa tightly, a grin on her face. “Am I right? I mean, I'm always right, so I'm right, right!?”

 

A mixture of annoyance and embarrassment was on the face of the girl Kamukura assumes to be called Fukawa. She looked like she was going to reply to what Enoshima said before she looks instead at Kamukura and Naegi who just entered the door.

 

To get here, Naegi and he had to be driven by a black limousine that is quite too lavish if Kamukura were to be asked. He immediately tried to use his application—whoever was driving the vehicle had to have a phone somehow—but all he detected was the built-in GPS of the car. That’s how he learned that this place was 26.3 kilometers away from Hope’s Peak Academy, and that it took them exactly fifty minutes to arrive.

 

Of course, even without the aid of the GPS, he still would have been able to come up with a close approximate of those figures anyway.

 

“Waaahh! They're here!” Enoshima points at the two of them, and Kamukura does his best to tune out her screechy voice. “Are you two buddy-buddy now? How disgustingly cute! The two Super High School Level Hopes also known as the two Super High School Level Best Friends!”

 

“S-Super High School Level Hope…” Fukawa mutters under her breath, glaring at him as if he personally did something wrong to her. That actually causes him to lift an eyebrow. “T-That guy too? I may not t-take a bath every day… b-but at least I manage my hair better.”

 

Naegi lets out a chuckle. “Kamukura-kun, this is Fukawa Touko-san. She's the Super High School Level Writer. Fukawa-san, this is Kamukura Izuru-kun. He has the same Super High School Level Title as me. He’s on our side, so I hope the two of you get along.”

 

Fukawa bites her lower lip as she almost imperceptibly nods and turns to Enoshima, but not before throwing Kamukura yet another hostile look. “A-Anyway… T-This writing style looks n-nice, yeah, but… t-this isn’t creative writing. T-This is technical writing, and t-that’s… completely different. S-So I can’t say for sure that you i-improved.”

 

Enoshima doesn’t turn off her laptop, so Kamukura immediately tries the mobile application again. He knows better than to expect anything interesting, however, because if it really is something of note, she would hurry up to shut it down too just like Naegi did to his phone.

 

He tunes out all of their voices as he begins to read.

 

\--

 

You have been chosen to attend the first ever leadership training by Hope’s Peak Academy this coming Friday night to Sunday morning. The program will start at seven in the evening in the school’s gymnasium.

 

Hope’s Peak Academy is renowned as the school of hope. Its students are known to be exceptionally gifted, and that is the reason why we actively continue to pursue excellence in all possible aspects. That is the purpose of this leadership training—to train the academy’s student leaders to cross the borders from effectiveness to outstanding efficiency. Among the list of prospects for the training, we have carefully handpicked you to take part in this as we have had our eyes on you for the past months. We strongly believe that you could be a great leader of not only the country but also the world. We see and believe that you are capable of so much potential, and we want to extend our help in turning that into reality. We really do hope that you would not miss out on this opportunity and would consider our humble invitation.

 

There is no RSVP required. Simply show up at the venue with your invitation, and we will accommodate you.

 

\--

 

“—Yeah, Togami-kun’s driver was great, Fukawa-san. And this place is beautiful too, isn’t it? I can’t believe this is his smallest house! Did he have another driver escort you here too? Where's everyone else?”

 

Enoshima tries to cover Kamukura’s eyes with her hands, and despite her coming from his backside, she didn’t have to get too close for him to sense her presence. He immediately evades as he locks his phone’s screen and throws a glare at her.

 

She feigns surprise and snaps her fingers. “Oh, well! Better luck next time for me, huh?”

 

Naegi looks busy talking to Fukawa, chuckling here and there despite her rather cheerless expression. He takes the time to observe closer the appearance of the room instead of paying attention to Enoshima. The walls of the wide room were a shade of cream, and the floors were thankfully white, although mostly covered by a red carpet with numerous patterns.

 

Suddenly, the red carpet feels like an eyesore.

 

“Hey, hey!” Enoshima snaps her fingers in front of his face this time. “You may be Super High School Level Everything, but you're not really Super High School Level Sociable, aren’t you? How is that even possible!?”

 

She holds a hand up. “Oh, oh, wait, this is good! Where does ‘everything’ begin? Where does ‘everything’ end? Where is the line where ‘something’ ends and ‘everything’ begins? What exactly is ‘everything’? To find out more, we have our special guest right at this moment! Kamukura Izuru-san!” She claps, that grin of hers coming back. “So?”

 

“Being sociable on its own is not a talent.” He replies. “Why are you here?”

 

“Aww, you know, like, this isn’t how an interview works, right? I am the one asking questions! I thought you were smarter than this. I'm despair-inducingly disappointed!”

 

“You are supposed to get your potential interviewee’s consent. If you are going to be disappointed in anyone, be disappointed in yourself.”

 

“I got lectured, I got lectured!” She clutches her chest, and her face was actually flushed a bright pink. “Come on, tell me more about how I'm the worst interviewer ever! Since you got interviewed a lot back then, right?”

 

“No.”

 

“Kyaa! Stop flirting with me!”

 

He doesn’t reply.

 

“Fine, fine! Let’s see… Let’s talk about something else!” She bats her eyelashes. “What do you think about my letter? It reads like a love letter, doesn’t it!? Makes you feel special and stuff! It’d be so hard to say no to such a sweet invitation, right? So what do you think?”

 

“If I were to receive it, I would know that others would have received the exact same letter. So I would know that it would be wrong to feel special, and I would know that it is not sincere.”

 

“Ooohh! Gotta keep my ears peeled! _The_ Kamukura Izuru is giving his critique!” She inches closer quite enthusiastically. “Did they teach you about sincere letters too?”

 

For some reason, when he heard that, he felt slightly uncomfortable. “Writing is a talent too.”

 

“I know that! So what should I do then? Share your genius with me! I want to sound more sincere!”

 

“Watch them like you claimed in your letter, and write what you see. They would think that people are paying attention to them, thus, making them feel more special.”

 

“Oh, oh, like, ‘you're so cute when you sleep’ or something? Got it! Gyahahaha! You give super duper awesome advice!”

 

“…”

 

“Aww, I was joking! You know what a joke is, right? It’s supposed to make you laugh!” She tries to place a finger on his cheek, but he immediately pushes it away. “Hey, being a comedian is a talent too, right? You should have some good jokes in there!”

 

“I do, but I am not interested in making you laugh.”

 

Enoshima bursts out laughing anyway despite what Kamukura said. Naegi chooses that time to interrupt, and Kamukura actually likes that because Enoshima diverts her attention to Naegi as a result.

 

“Enoshima-san, you shouldn’t bother Kamukura-kun too much.” Naegi smiles at the both of them. “Anyway, have you showed him the letter already?”

 

“I did, I did! Are you gonna praise me now? Tell me how I'm such a good girl? Or maybe insult me instead! That would actually be better!”

 

“Haha, I shouldn’t insult you. Thank you, Enoshima-san.” Naegi looks at Kamukura. “Do you have any questions regarding what you read?”

 

“What is the purpose of that letter?”

 

“Leadership training! Duh!” Enoshima frowns. “Boo! I thought you knew how to read!”

 

“It’s to make sure people will attend our next little event. What better way than to make people feel special because they apparently received a letter from the academy itself, right? We’re going to send them to the student council members so that they'd find it realistic to be the recipients.” Naegi chuckles. “These people hold so much belief in themselves, considering they're the leaders of the students everyone regards as hope, after all. They would not doubt that the academy indeed has been monitoring them, and they would surely believe that they were good enough to be chosen for something as grand-sounding as that event.”

 

“Compliments are funny that way, huh…?” Enoshima sighs. “They work to play with people’s egos… After all, you'd only accept a compliment if you believe it yourself… How despair-inducing… Confident people are so easy to manipulate…”

 

“It is possible to accept a compliment solely because you believe in the person who said it.” Kamukura replies. These words—he doesn’t understand why, but they gave a burning feeling within his chest. “You do not necessarily have to be confident.”

 

“What do you know about lack of confidence…? Being so talented, you have no reason to understand the struggles of us who work hard every single day… It’s so despair-inducing how the division of capable people and useless people is so evident…” Enoshima suddenly laughs out loud. “Just kidding! Of fucking course I'm not one of those pathetic hard workers! I'm a goddamn natural at everything!”

 

“Anyway, that’s the point of the letter.” Naegi interrupts. “We have to make sure they will attend.”

 

“Why do you need to gather those people?”

 

“Gardening preparation.” Naegi chuckles. “Now that I think about it… No offense to you, Enoshima-san, but I think I’d be more comfortable explaining everything to Kamukura-kun in private.”

 

“Listen here, you—did you fucking know everything becomes a million times more offensive when someone starts with ‘no offense’? Damn it, you should fucking know that!” Enoshima taps Naegi on the shoulder. “Heehee, just kidding! Fine, fine! You cuties should probably find another place you can use! Don’t forget to use protection!”

 

“That’s not a good joke, Enoshima-san.” Naegi smiles. “Anyway, let’s go, Kamukura-kun.”

 

\--

 

“I would have allowed you inside my designated room in this house, but I don’t want Enoshima-san to get ideas. Just to make it clear, I'm not interested in you in that way.” Naegi lets out a chuckle. “Friendship is all I'm after, generally.”

 

That’s why they're currently in the dining room that’s quite too big for the two of them. They were sitting across each other—on the farthest chairs of the long table—and two goblets were placed near them. A rectangular cloth with embroidery was laid in the middle of the table, and two silver candlesticks were on the ends of it. The candles in them had flames so dim it was so easy to mistake that there weren’t flames at all. On the middle of the cloth was a violet glass vase, six marigolds in them.

 

“I know it was a joke. Her sense of humor is poor, but I am smart enough to know it was one.”

 

“Sense of humor is pretty personal, so I don’t think you can just declare that one’s sense of humor is poor. I don’t like it too when she jokes, but probably others would think she's funny.”

 

“Her sense of humor is poor.”

 

Naegi laughs. “Alright. You must have really hated her jokes. What did she tell you anyway?”

 

“She just talks too much.”

 

“Ah, she does tend to do that, doesn’t she?”

 

“Why do you keep on making small talk?”

 

“Why not?” Naegi smiles. “Are you the type of person who claims they prefer to skip small talk and wouldn’t mind jumping to the deep topics right away?”

 

“No. How pretentious. Those people, I mean.”

 

“Don’t say that.” Naegi chuckles. “If you would like a deeper topic, then… What do you think of life, Kamukura-kun?”

 

“Only the lives of the talented matter.” He replies. “For the world to not come to a deadlock, to come to a boring state… the majority should be those who are able.”

 

“I agree with that. What Enoshima-san said earlier too was true. There's a clear division between the capable people and the talentless people. And that’s good because that way, we’d easily know which ones are disposable.”

 

“Then why are you targeting Hope’s Peak’s Student Council?”

 

Naegi laughs. “Alright, you got me. That’s because my thought wasn’t complete yet. I think everyone is disposable but with varying extent and repercussions. It’s like in a game of chess, right? Naturally, you'd sacrifice the pawns first, but if it comes to it, you can sacrifice the others too if it means winning… be it a castle, a knight, or even the queen. But of course, that will make things a bit difficult.”

 

“As I am loved by talent, I would never be faced with a circumstance where I would have to sacrifice valuable pieces.”

 

“Haha, but as you are loved by talent, you can use imagination, right? Or are you only good at things people associate with the left brain?”

 

“Naturally, I am good at both.” Kamukura leans his cheek against his palm. “The right brain is usually associated with creativity and intuition, and I must say that a chess analogy right now is not exactly creative.”

 

Naegi laughs again. “It’s not my fault that it’s so fitting! I know clichés are irritating, but clichés have become clichés for a reason. Chess really is applicable to situations like this.”

 

“Clichés are uncreative.”

 

“Clichés are so overused that they're not effective anymore, and I think I was able to effectively put across my meaning with the analogy I used.”

 

“Well argued.”

 

“Thanks! That means a lot coming from you.”

 

“So what was that letter about exactly? To what do you plan to lure them?”

 

“A leadership training really isn’t believable, huh?” Naegi chuckles. “But then again, I did say it was gardening preparation… Hm, just think of it as the first rainfall we’ll do. I told you that I’ll explain in private, but I realized that it’s better if we surprise you, after all.”

 

“An overreaching goal.”

 

“Maybe. Do you have guesses so far?”

 

“Rainfall, despair, anyone is disposable…” Kamukura says after a while. “Whatever it is, I am sure that it will not end with the student council alive.”

 

“Looks like we’re going to have to try harder to impress you.” Naegi smiles. “But I know we’re going to do a good job, so I'm not really worried. After all, my friends and I are all gathered here just to talk about what we plan to do. I know that if we all work together, we can surely do it.”

 

“How did you get all those people to agree with you?”

 

“To varying extents, all of them, in their own ways…” Naegi smiles. “All of them are in love with me, and all of us are in love with each other. I believed in them and supported them in their dreams. If they help me with mine, I promised that they’ll achieve theirs too. So, I think, to answer your question, I would say that all of us are bonded together by each of our own hopes.”

 

“In every group, there exists the weakest link. Individual differences—ideals, backgrounds, priorities—are bound to get in the way.”

 

“That may be right, but I think you're underestimating the power of hope.” Naegi replies. “As long as we have hope, we’ll never lose to anyone.”

 

“Ironic.”

 

Naegi chuckles. “Hope and despair coexist, you know. But whatever I do, one thing I know for sure is that I am the Super High School Level Hope, so I guess there's that, haha.”

 

“I am the Super High School Level Hope.”

 

“Looks like I should stop pretending that we’ll reach an agreement about this.”

 

Naegi smiles again, but this time, Kamukura thinks that he was finally able to actually see even just a little hint of what the other really feels.

 

This time, his anger doesn’t feel like just a background sensation any longer.

 

“I am the Super High School Level Hope.” They said in unison.

 

\--

 

“W-Wha… W-Why are you even talking to me? Creep…” The girl named Fukawa glares as she fidgets with her own fingers. “W-What, because I'm the ugly girl you think it’d be nice to take pity on me?”

 

Kamukura decides to ignore everything she said and just go straight to what he wanted to ask. “Why are you helping Naegi and Enoshima?”

 

“W-What kind of question is that…” She bites her lower lip, and she averts her gaze to the floor. “N-Naturally, they're my… f…”

 

Kamukura waits patiently.

 

“F-Fr…” She groans. “I-I bet you already know what I'm going to say anyway! W-What, you wanted to see me struggle saying it, didn’t you? D-Demon!”

 

“…What were you saying?”

 

She runs her hands through her hair and lets out a frustrated screech. “T-They're my f-f-friends! W-What, you don’t believe me because I don’t look like I have friends, is that it?”

 

“I do not doubt that you are friends.” Kamukura ignores her agitation. “I am just curious about the specific whys.”

 

“T-They're my friends… E-Everyone in the class is my friend… e-even the annoying idiots.” She stares at the floor again. “S-Sure, it was difficult, but… he made it possible. H-He befriended everyone, and he became like… a b-bridge for all of us.”

 

She glares. “T-That’s it! Hope you're satisfied forcing me to talk, c-creep!”

 

She stalks out of the room but not without an annoyed grumble.

 

Kamukura gets the thought that maybe he understood things a little better after that conversation.

 

\--

 

Naegi’s classmate—the one named Togami Byakuya, Super High School Level  Heir—allowed Kamukura to have his own room in the house (he thinks it’d be more apt to call it a mansion, however). Togami wasn’t very friendly either just like Fukawa, so Kamukura finds it interesting to visualize exactly how Naegi got them both to be his friends.

 

Being blamed for the murder of the five researchers from Hope’s Peak, he admits that he doesn’t have that much liberty to wander in the campus. That’s why he stayed in his room in this place, only leaving when he's sure that the others aren’t around. He tried to get into reading as Togami had a huge library, but after only a few hours, he realized that every fictional book has become predictable, and every educational book carries things that he already knows.

 

He also tried to get into painting as the house had a room with an easel, but he decided to only paint the daytime sky and was bored to paint or even draw anything else after that. He tried to get into playing various games available in the mansion, tried to get into archery, gun shooting, even swimming—

 

But in the end, he got bored of them all too.

 

He found himself doing nothing but standing on the balcony of his room and staring at the sky. Recently, it won’t stop raining. Each day, the white clouds that he liked seeing seemed to turn darker and darker.

 

What a shame.

 

It’s almost as if he wasn’t allowed to admire anything.

 

He senses somebody entering the balcony. They did so quite vigilantly, but of course Kamukura still sensed their presence.

 

He doesn’t turn around even as the person places a hand on his arm and with that, he finds out that it was Enoshima. She lets out a loud noise, obviously as an effort to catch him off guard, but he doesn’t give her the satisfaction of receiving any kind of reaction from him whatsoever.

 

He continues staring at the sky with a blank expression even as she lets out a disappointed sigh. “Kamukura-kun, if you keep this up, you'll be even more boring than the most boring character of the most boring book!”

 

He doesn’t reply.

 

“I came here to deliver you delicious gossip! That’s right! Even if you act uninterested, I know that your heart is beating so fast with excitement right now! It’s okay, it’s okay, you don’t need to thank me! Just seeing your happy face is enough thanks for me!” She continues tattling on. “Hey, hey, you're listening, right? You better! You won’t want to miss this!”

 

“What is it?”

 

“Fascinating! You actually let out a response! Mortals really do fancy hearsay!” She lets out a laugh that’s quite too deep compared to her usual voice. “Well, well, I'm super duper happy that you let out a reaction, you know! So I’ll just tell you already! Come on, count with me, okay? One!”

 

He doesn’t count with her.

 

“Two!”

 

He doesn’t count with her.

 

“Ugh, whatever, I got bored with counting! Anyway,” She clears her throat. “Hey, hey, did you know that Naegi-kun has a boooyfriend? Yep, yep, you heard me right! He has a super duper ugly boyfriend! Juicy, isn’t it!? Very shocking! Did you ever expect that someone like Naegi-kun would be in a relationship?”

 

Enoshima doesn’t seem to be lying. Kamukura knows he can trust his own people-reading skills to tell that much, at least. But despite that, somehow, he feels so uncomfortable.

 

Was that why Naegi went out of his way to hide even his phone’s lock screen? Was he trying to keep his lover away from all this mess? Was Naegi capable of feeling love just like any other person would?

 

Somehow, that sounds a little absurd.

 

“Look at you… You're intrigued, but you can’t even express it… Is it really worth it to be so emotionless for the sake of talent…?” She sighs. “Even someone like Naegi-kun feels so, so much more than you… You may be talented, but you know what…? You're not real, Kamukura-kun…”

 

“…What gave you the impression that I care about measly things like that?”

 

“Nothing! Gyahahaha!” Enoshima holds her stomach as she laughs. “Exact-fucking-ly! You don’t give a fuck about anything! But anyway, let’s go back to that goddamn thing we’re actually freaking talking about earlier—the ugly boyfriend! You know, like, he and Naegi are always so fucking close to each other! It’s like they’ll both drop down dead if they don’t share oxygen for a goddamn second!”

 

“Why are you telling me this?”

 

“Silence. This is where the good part is.” She put a hand on her waist. “Apparently, his boyfriend has not shown up to school yesterday, and he had not even had the decency to inform Naegi-kun when usually, he tells Naegi-kun everything. Can you imagine the worry Naegi-kun felt? I surmise he has not been able to sleep a wink last night!”

 

The discomfort won’t go away. “What happened?”

 

“What? Are you concerned?” Enoshima lifts an eyebrow. “Mhm, that’s funny.”

 

“…I am not concerned. I am gathering information.” Kamukura replies. “If I am going to work with Naegi, I would like to know some things about him and matters close to him. Who knows when the information will come in handy.”

 

“Aww, good point! But see, see! I don’t understand your question at all, Kamukura-kun!” Enoshima pouts. “By ‘what happened’, are you asking about what happened with the boyfriend? Or are you asking about what happened to Naegi-kun, the cutiepatootie who might have been consumed alive by his worry?”

 

“Tell me both.”

 

“Is being a gossiper a talent too…? I can’t believe you'd be this interested…” She shakes her head. “But anyway… I don’t fucking know! Gyahahaha! Naegi didn’t fucking go here yet, so who knows if they're together and trading spit by now, but yeah! Your goddamn guess is as freaking good as mine!”

 

“Simply put, you are wasting my time.”

 

“Maybe I am! But enough about that,” She grins. “The love letters have been received already! I'm so ready for more people to fall in love with my romantic words!”

 

\--

 

“Important night tonight. Make sure to be in the gym by seven.” That was what Togami said when he saw Kamukura on Friday morning, his arms crossed. “I heard great things from Naegi and Enoshima about your abilities, so I hope you're not the type to forget.”

 

“I do not need a reminder.”

 

“As it should be.” Togami curtly says before leaving the room.

 

\--

 

Hope’s Peak’s gymnasium was rather spacious, and it looked even bigger than it really is because it’s currently devoid of any chairs or any sort of decorations. The only ones occupying the space are the thirteen student council members and Kamukura. Naegi and Enoshima were nowhere to be seen and so were their other friends.

 

Kamukura keeps his eyes on his phone. Of course, he couldn’t detect any devices too aside from that of the members of the student council. For a second, he regrets ever telling anyone the nature of the program that he developed.

 

He raises an eyebrow at a peculiar thing that he has noticed.

 

Suddenly, there wasn’t any reception in the area.

 

Some students were in the middle of sending text messages to others when it happened. Things like ‘ _yes, I'm here in the training now! Nothing has started yet though, but I'm really happy to be picked. I'm not surprised that the ones chosen are all from the student council, though there's this one stranger here with us…_ ’ and ‘ _I’ll definitely do my best and make you guys proud! I was surprised that I was even picked to join something like this. I know everyone here is more capable than me, even that one stranger here that doesn’t even look like he's from Hope’s Peak. He gives off this aura that he knows a lot of things. He's probably good if he's an outsider and Hope’s Peak still picked him. I don’t know why I'm here, but I’ll make sure to be a better leader after this._ ’

 

‘ _I know you guys have always wanted me to lead. To be honest, I’ve never really wanted to be the center of attention, but if even Hope’s Peak recognized that I was capable of something like this, then I thought that maybe I should at least try and improve._ ’

 

‘ _Father, I'm here already! Hehe, I think I already talked enough about how excited I am about this event, but I hope it’s okay if you let me say it again anyway, hehe! I'm really excited! All my friends are here too, and I hope we all have fun while learning new things! Once I come back, I’ll show you the things I learned! ^_^_ ’

 

All of the messages are brimming with hope, and Kamukura almost finds it quite symbolic how the reception didn’t allow them to send the hopeful messages. Especially since he can tell that whatever happened to the reception was due to direct interference.

 

If he were to be honest, he thinks he actually felt something regarding all these extinguished hopes. And despite his wide vocabulary and ability to tell which emotions one is feeling at the moment, he feels like he wants to refuse to actually name whatever this is he's feeling.

 

“Hello? Mic test?” They hear a high-pitched voice that breaks a bit here and there. “Hey… Do you guys hear me?”

 

Some of the students’ eyes light up, obviously thinking that the program is finally starting. Kamukura wonders if it would be right to say that he actually feels a bit sorry for them.

 

“Oh, this is great! They do hear me! You really did a great job on this one.” The voice chuckles. “Oh, right, since they do hear me I shouldn’t be speaking like this…”

 

They clear their throat. The voice was obviously just a voice bank from somewhere, but if Kamukura were to guess who it was according to its speech pattern, it’s probably Naegi.

 

If Kamukura were to pinpoint the exact feeling surrounding the room, he would say that it’s ‘confusion’. Everyone around him at the moment looked more confused than any other emotion—they weren’t feeling fear, unease, or even suspicion. They must trust the academy that much, Kamukura concludes. Since this whole ‘leadership training’ thing was arranged ‘by the academy’, after all.

 

“Ah, before we start, why don’t you all look at me? I'm here, everyone!” Murmurs start to fill the room. Things like ‘ _ah, this really is unexpected coming from Hope’s Peak… Maybe they wanted to start by loosening us all up a bit?_ ’ and ‘ _I thought Hope’s Peak would be more no-nonsense than this._ ’

 

Even without communication, all of sudden, they all turned towards the stage, and as if on cue, a stuffed toy jumps out from behind the podium. The murmurs start to get louder, and the already obvious confusion in the air got even more apparent.

 

The stuffed toy—it was a black and white bear, black on its left side and white on its right side. It was as if it was composed by two completely different stuffed bears simply sewn together quite neatly. He could imagine the one designing it thinking they wanted a white bear, and halfway, got bored and decided to go completely change things up without scrapping the already done progress.

 

In fact, he can clearly visualize that. It was definitely Enoshima who designed that bear.

 

“I'm here! Nice to meet you all. My name is Monokuma. I’ll be your host for this leadership training. Depending on you all, I could accompany you until Sunday. I’ll be looking forward to how you guys will perform!”

 

‘ _Um… Host…? That’s the host? I never really thought that the academy would make this kind of joke… Even as an icebreaker, this one feels really…_ ’

 

‘ _Let’s just observe what happens next. There's no way Hope’s Peak would prolong this more than necessary._ ’

 

“This school is filled with students of hope. And among these students, there are, of course, their leaders. Those leaders are capable of leading everyone to greatness, to the hope that everyone wants to achieve, by taking the initiative and being great examples. And that is why…”

 

The voice starts to crack a bit, and Kamukura hears an all-too-familiar chuckle. It was Naegi’s chuckle, devoid of any voice-changing effects.

 

“That is why all of you should take the initiative and die.”

 

‘… _This isn’t funny. This isn’t funny. In fact, this has crossed a line. I'm going to file a complaint._ ’

 

‘ _Um, haha… I think this is going a bit too far. What's going on?_ ’

 

‘ _I'm pretty sure I already heard this voice somewhere. I just have to think deeper about it. I swear, once I figure out who this is—_ ’

 

“So go ahead! Be everyone’s leaders to despair. I mean, if you can lead others to hope, then you can surely lead others to despair too, right? So please just kill each other already.”

 

The murmurs start to sound more like incessant and simultaneous agitated talking by everyone. ‘ _…Haha, I'm getting really kind of scared. I'm so sorry. I can’t take this joke anymore. If this is a test of courage, then I think I really can’t do this. I'm so sorry,_ ’ ‘ _This is all just a game, right? They're just playing around? They're just trying to scare us, right? Please tell me that’s the case. Please_ ,’ and other variants of those.

 

Kamukura remains silent. He knows that he's in a suspicious position, being the only outsider and remaining completely calm, but he isn’t interested in blending in.

 

“This was a waste of time.” Kamukura hears someone say loudly from the group. “This was a prank. That much is obvious because I know Hope’s Peak will never do something like this. Just you wait, we’ll find you, and we’ll make sure you receive the punishment you deserve. Let’s go, everyone.”

 

He starts to walk towards the exit of the gymnasium. The agitated voices start to slowly quiet down, and it takes a good few minutes before two other boys start to walk too.

 

The first boy was only a couple of meters from the door when it happened.

 

A loud explosion was heard in the room, followed by the screams of the two following boys. Everyone else started letting out screams of their own when they all start to see clearly exactly what happened.

 

The boy was now on the floor, a couple of steps farther from the door now compared to his earlier state, his chest covered in blood. His legs have been torn from his body, landing near the two boys who followed him. The boy himself had a terrified look on his eyes before they lose their life altogether.

 

Thirteen.

 

The screams of the people in the room were continuous, and Kamukura gets the brief thought that this might be a sound that he’ll never forget. They all look like they badly want to run, but at the same time, they are all frozen in their spots.

 

“Ah, I'm so sorry, looks like I messed up, haha!” The bear speaks again, the mirth in Naegi’s voice making everyone else in the room seem even tenser. “It’s my first time to actually host an event, see, so I guess I was pretty sloppy with my announcements… I forgot to say that _that_ will happen if you guys go to the exit! Thanks to him though because now, it’s easier for you guys to imagine what will happen. Again, I'm sorry!”

 

‘ _You asshole! I swear you'll pay for this! Hope’s Peak will find you, and they won’t let this slide!_ ’

 

‘ _G-Guys, let’s keep a clear mind. If we work together, I'm sure we can get out of here—_ ’

 

“Ah, because of this though, I remembered something else I forgot. Haha, no wonder something feels like it’s missing. Wait a second.”

 

From the same place the bear earlier came from, numerous items started being tossed towards the floor in front them all. Knives, clubs, baseball bats, hammers—everyone took a step backward so as to not get hit.

 

“Someone must be behind the podium! Guys, let’s go!”

 

“Oh, I don’t think that’s a good idea...” Naegi’s voice says. “If you go near here too, you'll end up like him. Though personally that’s fine with me, but I don’t think you guys feel the same way. I mean, of course I could be wrong, and if that’s so, then feel free to come here! I’ll do my best to greet you properly.”

 

‘ _W-Why this… I-I can’t, I want to leave already, I don’t understand—_ ’

 

“E-Everyone, don’t get distracted! This whole deal is suspicious, but we’re failing to take note of the closest suspicious thing to us!” Someone says, and the next thing Kamukura knows, everyone was looking at him. “T-This guy—he never reacted at all when all this started! And I don’t know about you all but I don’t even know who he is! I never ever saw him before!”

 

‘ _That’s right… Who is that guy anyway…? Maybe he's the one who put us here—_ ’

 

‘ _…He really doesn’t look like he cares. I'm feeling really scared now, please, just—_ ’

 

“Of what are you accusing me? I do not understand what you are saying.”

 

“W-Who are you? Why are you here?” The person continues to speak, voice shaking here and there. “What do you know about this?”

 

“I really feel bad for interrupting your getting-to-know session, but see, I'm not yet done orienting you guys.” The bear speaks again. “To get it over with, though, his name is Kamukura Izuru-kun. He'll be joining you guys, so please take care of him, alright? Anyway, I gave you everything you guys need already, so please just start killing each other until one remains. I'm willing to wait until Sunday seven in the morning. When that time comes though, I’ll have to kill you all by detonating all the explosives in this room, including the ones not near the exit. Let’s not wait for that, okay? After all, you guys would want a chance to win, right?”

 

‘ _D-Detonate—don’t fuck with me!_ ’

 

‘ _Kamukura Izuru… as in the name of Hope’s Peak’s founder? Stop lying!_ ’

 

‘He’ll be joining you guys’… Kamukura quirks an eyebrow at that. Does Naegi intend for him to actually join in this?

 

“Alright, fine… If five minutes go by without anyone dying, I’ll detonate one that is surely close to one of you. I'm gonna start my countdown, okay?”

 

“I-I'm sorry, but—” One of them shakily picks up one of the baseball bats on the floor and holds it with both hands. “No matter how you look at this, this Kamukura person is the only one who's really suspicious… right, guys? I mean, he's even using a name that’s obviously not his! I think this guy is working with whoever put us here!”

 

Everyone else in the room turns to look at Kamukura quite suspiciously.

 

Unimpressive.

 

“I-If we all work together—” The person tightens the hold around the bat. “We’ll all get out of here! I'm sure of it! That’s why—”

 

He charges at Kamukura while holding the bat, and Kamukura chooses not to move from his position—

 

Two of the student council members pull the boy away, another knocking the bat from his hands.

 

—Because he knew they'd intervene.

 

“You're not thinking clearly anymore!” One of the people who pulled him away says. “Calm down! If you actually kill someone, you'll just be playing to the hands of the perpetrator—”

 

“…But they would detonate the bombs if we don’t do anything.” Another one picks up a knife. “I-I don’t want to do this, but I don’t want to die here, so I'm sorry, I'm really sorry—”

 

That person lifts the knife and stabs the stomach of the one next to her, earning a loud screech. She pulls out the knife with shaking hands, and when the person still moves, she hurriedly puts back the knife to the stomach, thrusting harder than earlier.

 

Twelve.

 

“…Stop it, please, get away from—”

 

Everyone who was near the girl who holds the knife moved away except for one. He tried to stop her, his hand in front of himself as a gesture, when he too gets stabbed in the chest. “I'm really sorry, I just don’t want to die, I'm sorry, I'm sorry.”

 

Eleven.

 

“G-Guys, she's doing it, she's really doing it, we need to get out of here, please, we have to get out—”

 

The guy previously holding the baseball bat kicks the knees of the two people restraining him, and he bashes their heads with the bat as soon as they lose their grasps on him.

 

Nine.

 

“H-Hey, if you're really not a bad guy, then help us out! Don’t just watch them! Do something!” It takes a short while before Kamukura realizes that that voice was addressing him.

 

The person’s eyes carry such deep distrust that the only thing that is deeper than the distrust they have is desperation—this person must be so deeply desperate to ask even Kamukura who didn’t give any of them any reason to think that he can be trustworthy.

 

Now Kamukura wonders which would be more entertaining.

 

Would it be better if helps out?

 

Or would it be better if he doesn’t?

 

He thinks about what Naegi would have expected. Judging from the things he says—his repeated establishment of how he wants Kamukura to be on his side, his saying that the student council will be everyone’s leaders to despair—

 

It’s obvious that he expects that Kamukura will be the only one remaining by the end.

 

So he decides to sneak behind the guy holding the baseball bat, hits a pressure point, and makes sure to catch him when he falls to Kamukura’s arms. He promptly does the same to the girl holding a knife, and he guides her not to hit herself on the floor when she too falls down.

 

The person who demanded that Kamukura do something looked surprised, though Kamukura understands why. Asking for Kamukura’s help wasn’t an action done by trust. It was of, as he pointed out earlier, unadulterated desperation.

 

The gymnasium quiets down for a while.

 

“T-Thank you.” The person forces out. “I can’t believe the stranger has his things together compared to us… Aside from him, we all know each other, yet this kind of thing happened because of some of us! Guys, we have to stay firm! We have until Sunday morning to figure things out… If we work together—instead of _against_ each other—we can come up with something!”

 

‘ _Y-Yes, that’s right… I mean, that’s a lot of time. If none of us… does anything wrong, we’ll continue to have nine heads working on this._ ’

 

‘ _I-I'm really scared, but yes, let’s work together, everyone!_ ’

 

Hope starts to spread in the room again. Only because Kamukura decided to help out.

 

“U-Um… but before all that, is it okay if we ask you what your real name actually is?” Someone nervously speaks up, addressing Kamukura. “I mean, it can’t be actually Kamukura Izuru, right…? Unless you're like… a descendant or something and they decided to name you after him. So if that’s the case… please tell us.”

 

‘ _Right. We’re trusting this guy too quickly just because he did something remotely decent._ ’

 

‘ _For all we know… he was just trying to win our trust._ ’

 

“I really was named Kamukura Izuru.” Kamukura replies. “I did not know about the founder of this place.”

 

‘ _He doesn’t seem to be lying._ ’

 

‘ _No matter how you look at it, that sounds so much like a lie!_ ’

 

“Alright then, Kamukura…” Someone speaks again. “Where exactly are you from anyway? You're the only one here who isn’t from Hope’s Peak… so I hope you understand that we’re a little suspicious, especially considering... the situation.”

 

“Actually, I _am_ from Hope’s Peak. Except I was not mixed with the rest of the students, and that is why none of you know me.”

 

‘ _Haha… N-Now that sounds like a lie. I can’t stop feeling uneasy at all._ ’

 

‘ _I just… find that so difficult to believe._ ’

 

“Let’s assume that’s real. Why were you not mixed with the rest of the students?”

 

The questions keep on coming one after the other. Kamukura wonders if choosing to be cooperative really was the better option. It’s unbelievable how fast he's becoming bored already.

 

“Before all this, they were still trying to see what things I could do and how well I could do them.”

 

They still look like they wanted to ask more when the bear interrupts them again. Kamukura hears Naegi clearing his throat to get everyone’s attention. Even without Naegi in the same room, for some reason, Kamukura somehow can still feel his incessant anger.

 

“You guys really look like you're interested in Kamukura-kun, huh?” He says. Everyone tenses again. “Well, I can tell you information, I think. If you guys were interested, you should have just asked me instead. Let’s see… Kamukura-kun is actually working with me. So yes, feel free to ask and I might tell you what I know.”

 

‘ _…I knew it. Everyone, distance yourselves._ ’

 

‘ _He's a liar._ ’

 

“I do not remember saying that I already am working with you, Naegi.” Kamukura glares at the bear. Despite being an inanimate object, it’s oddly full of emotion. “So you should not be saying things like that.”

 

‘ _N-Naegi!? As in Naegi Makoto, the Super High School Level Hope!? Shit… Shit, I knew I already heard that voice somewhere!_ ’

 

‘… _Are you sure you're going to believe this person here? For all we know, they're just using a voice bank that sounds like Naegi’s. I mean, if it’s really him, I don’t think he’d be as careless as to use his actual voice to speak with us._ ’

 

“Naegi Makoto? The Super High School Level Hope, you mean?” The bear tilts its head, a paw placed near its mouth. “Stop being weird, Kamukura-kun. Everyone in this room knows that kid’s not capable of doing something like this. If I recall correctly, they all already interacted with him at some point.”

 

‘ _R-Right! Let’s not be foolish! Have you seen how Naegi looks like? He’ll never do something like this! Plus, Hope’s Peak chose him to be Hope for a reason! There's no way Hope’s Peak will make a mistake!_ ’

 

‘ _D-Desperate lie… This Kamukura person is probably getting cornered… B-But why Naegi of all people? Why does he even know Naegi?_ ’

 

“Kamukura-kun, if you wanted to implicate someone, I wish you chose someone more believable. Thank you for not exposing my identity though! You're really the best partner ever.”

 

“Hey, we’ll give you a chance… Tell us who this person really is, and we won’t doubt you anymore.” Someone addresses Kamukura again. “Please… Please just say the truth already.”

 

“I already told you who it is.”

 

“Right, but there's no way we’ll believe you when you lie! All of us here know Naegi… Sometimes, he and his classmates help us out with simple tasks, especially since the Super High School Level Disciplinarian is with them…”

 

“H-Hey, if he's really not interested in cooperating,” One of them picks up the knife near the unconscious girl. “M-Maybe we should just get rid of him…”

 

“…Stop it! We already agreed that we’d stop with that!” One of them rushes to the person who picked up the knife, only to get stabbed in the stomach. The girl who picked it up panics and hurriedly pulls it out, and when the person who got stabbed screams, it was evident in her eyes that she was still panicking when she puts back the knife in her stomach.

 

“I-I'm sorry, I didn’t mean to, it was an accident—”

 

Eight.

 

“I didn’t want to do that! I'm so sorry! I'm really sorry!” She lifts the knife, and more people rush to her to stop her. She hurriedly stabs herself in the chest, takes it out as her strength still allows her, only to put it back again. It must be to mirror her mistake, Kamukura observes.

 

Seven.

 

‘ _Why is this happening?_ ’

 

‘ _Did we do anything wrong?_ ’

 

‘ _I-I wish this were just a bad dream…_ ’

 

“T-This is your fault.” One speaks up and glares at Kamukura. “I-If only you said the truth, if only you didn’t feel the need to lie… t-they wouldn’t have died!”

 

“Were it not you all who agreed that it is best to stay calm?” Kamukura replies. “If you let your anger control you, you will just end up like them.”

 

“…That’s right.” Somebody else speaks up. “Let’s not make bad decisions again. We don’t have to trust this person… but as long as he's not trying to harm us, we don’t have to worry about anything. So for now, let’s just… think.”

 

“Looks like it’s time for me to intervene again, haha!” Naegi speaks. “Alright, I have gifts for you all! None of us are really good at taking pictures, see, but we did our best. Please only take the envelope with your name or else something that you guys won’t like might happen. That’s all, thank you, everyone!”

 

Just like before, numerous items started flying from behind the podium, only, this time, they weren’t weapons. They were envelopes just like Naegi pointed out, and although there were only seven of them now, there were still fourteen—wait. No. There are fifteen envelopes. How curious.

 

Hesitance was the dominant feeling after that. None of them immediately moved to pick up any of the envelopes, and Naegi needed to briefly clear his throat before one scurries towards the appropriate envelope. Everyone follows suit, and Kamukura decides to go last.

 

He unseals the envelope. There was silence in the entire room as everyone does the same.

 

Inside Kamukura’s envelope was just a plain folded paper. No pictures like Naegi mentioned even as he searched the envelope thoroughly. There was nothing inside apart from the paper that he found.

 

He unfolds the paper.

 

‘ _Kamukura Izuru-kun’s earliest memory is waking up in that laboratory in Hope’s Peak Academy, but he is able to speak, count, and even do numerous skills with no problems. How did he learn them though? Does he even remember? Yes, he does know a lot, but is he not worried about the things he does not know? We know about the things he does not know, and if he wins this game, he’ll have the chance to ask us._ ’

 

No, that’s wrong.

 

His earliest memory was staring at the white clouds. Granted, he doesn’t remember when that was and in what setting he did that, but he can clearly remember looking at them and feeling comforted that he was able to see them.

 

He can’t remember where that was. He doesn’t know where he went to be able to look at the clouds without anything obstructing his view. He just knows that he stared at them, and he loved them.

 

He tries his best to visualize what was happening that time. He can remember the clouds. He can remember that the air then was warm but not at all uncomfortable. There was someone with him, and he tries to remember more, but—

 

“How is it, everyone?” Naegi’s voice interrupts. “Did you like it?”

 

He can’t.

 

He can’t remember.

 

It’s as if he was trying to write something, only for the pen in his hand to spontaneously combust with not even the smallest warning, rendering him just. Unable. To write.

 

Everyone in the room looked terrified. Kamukura’s sure that he doesn’t look like that too, but he can admit that he isn’t as relaxed as he is before. He knows better than to trust that letter, however. Yes, there are a lot of things that he doesn’t know, and Naegi and his friends might be aware, but the letter does not promise at all that they'd tell him the truth when he asks.

 

“G-Guys… They got my father.” The person who said that falls to the floor. “M-My father.”

 

“They got my little sister! They fucking got my little sister!”

 

“T-There's no way whatever they showed us are real. I-It must be Photoshop, I'm sure—”

 

“…Are you saying they were able to accurately depict the inside of our house too? N-No matter how you look at it, this is definitely… real.”

 

“I-I'm sorry, I can’t do this! I-I promised my mother that I’d do everything I can to keep my father safe! A-And if that means that I should… that I should kill you all…” That person gets up and grabs a nearby spear before standing. Unlike the others, this one was devoid of shaking at all while holding onto the weapon. “I have to do it!”

 

“No, stop it—”

 

The spear was pierced through the back of the unconscious boy on the floor, instantly followed by the girl who was also unconscious beside him.

 

Five.

 

The person lunges at Kamukura, and he immediately evades. He hears a sharp cry from behind him, and when he looks, what he expected was right. Someone else got pierced instead of him.

 

Four.

 

“Just—let me—let me kill you!” The person screams while continuing to attack Kamukura. He wordlessly continues to dodge. “You didn’t even react at whatever they showed you, so that means you don’t care as much as I do! Just let me win this!”

 

“If ever I was agitated,” Kamukura decides to reply in between evading. “I do not have to show it here.”

 

“Let me win!”

 

The person managed to try to attack twice before she stops by herself all of a sudden, her eyes widening. Her hands open, the spear falling near her feet, and she follows suit, so close to the pointed part of the spear that she almost got stabbed as she falls.

 

Somebody was behind her, holding a syringe. Poison, Kamukura assumes.

 

Three.

 

“…She's not the only one who wants to go home.” The person says and picks up the discarded spear. “All of us here do. I do, too. So I guess this really is a competition… I don’t think I stand a chance against you, but if I want to get out…”

 

The spear was pointed to Kamukura. “…I have to try.”

 

He hears a movement behind him, and even without looking, he's sure that the other remaining person has pointed a weapon at him too.

 

“I don’t want to do this, but it’s necessary.” The person continues to speak. “I'm sorry.”

 

As they both attack, Kamukura dodges to the side as fast as he can. It’s as if his perception slowed down when he does. He sees the subtle widening of the eyes of the attacker in front of him, and he sees that the person who tried to attack him from behind has a spear equipped too.

 

They stab each other as a result, and they both had a moment of consciousness, both staring at Kamukura with terrified eyes, before they too fall down to the floor.

 

Those eyes, along with the continuous screams he has heard earlier—he thinks he won’t forget them.

 

“Oh, it’s only Kamukura-kun now.” There was Naegi’s voice instead. “Congratulations! I'm really happy for you.”

 

Kamukura doesn’t reply.

 

“Are you mad at me for telling them that we’re friends? I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me… They say fights make relationships stronger because that means we were able to get through a hurdle together. Do you feel like we’ve gone closer?”

 

Kamukura still doesn’t reply.

 

“Anyway, we’re not yet done. There's someone I have to introduce to you. We had him do some tasks too while you guys played here, but he's on the way here now. If you want, you can count with me. I think he’ll be here in ten seconds.”

 

Naegi begins to count.

 

Ten.

 

Nine.

 

Eight.

 

Seven.

 

Six.

 

Five.

 

Four.

 

Three.

 

Two.

 

One.

 

The door from one side of the stage immediately opens, and a boy enters. He wasn’t walking properly, and his head was bleeding.

 

“This is Murasame Soshun-kun, the Super High School Level Student Council President. You should greet him. He's a really nice and reliable person. He's not exactly in the best shape right now as he encountered a bit of accident before coming here, but it’s okay. I think he can still communicate.” Naegi speaks as Murasame tries to navigate down the stage with much difficulty. He stumbles and falls down when he reaches the second level of the stairs, and for a moment, Kamukura thought that he won’t get up again.

 

Murasame struggles to stand up, and when he finally does, he makes eye contact with Kamukura. Kamukura doesn’t move from where he is even as Murasame’s eyes fall to the spears near Kamukura’s foot, to the two corpses near them, to every dead body in the room.

 

Murasame’s eyes widen as his attention immediately returns to Kamukura, him taking a few steps backward. “…Y-You're—you're the one behind this, aren’t you? You killed them… Y-You killed—you're going to kill me too, aren’t you?”

 

Murasame was shaking as tears fall from his eyes. Kamukura still can’t find it in himself to speak.

 

“H-Hope’s Peak won’t let you get away with this!”

 

Murasame runs towards the exit. Despite how sluggish he was earlier, he was quite fast as he does. Kamukura still wasn’t able to say anything as Murasame gets closer to the exit, and then and there, Kamukura hears a loud explosion just like earlier.

 

Kamukura hears a short sound of upbeat music, one that seems to belong in a video game, as Murasame’s severed body parts fall a couple of steps in front of him, as every hint of life completely disappears from Murasame’s eyes.

 

“Congratulations, Kamukura-kun. This time, you really won! You can exit safely now if you want to. Some of us will be waiting for you outside. I think we’re going to have a victory party, and of course, you're invited. See you later!”

 

The bear just shuts down, and nothing else can be heard in the room.

 

He doesn’t know any of these people, and he did know already that this would happen.

 

But somehow, as he leaves the room, something about the whole deal doesn’t sit right with him.


End file.
